Furniture seat



L. D. LICHTY FURNI TURE SEAT Sept. 19, 1933,

Filed Feb. 25, 1931 E'J.

za I ATToRNEY Patented Sept. 19, 1933 UNITED |;sg'rA'rlazs 1,927,2Y38` I FURNITUR SEAT Luther D. Lichty, Reading, Pa., assignor toV Duplex Swing-Spring Seat Company, Inc., Reading, Pa., a, corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 25, 1931. Serial No. 518,076

8 olaims. (ol. 155-479) The invention relates to furniture seats, and

more particularly to a construction of theframe of the article of furniture and the arrangement of the seat springs by which the seat as a whole will possess greater resiliency toward the back of the article of furniture and thus afford greater comfort'to the user thereof,

Heretofore, in the construction of chairs, sofas and settees, it has beenthe practice to provide a seat frame in which all of the rails are horizontally arranged the same distance from the floor or from the bottom of the chair, sofa or settee legs. In producing some types of lounging chairs, it has sometimes been the practice to make the rear legs shorter than the front legs so as to give a downward tilt to the chair and the chair seat toward the back of the chair. I

In such chairs, the universal practice has been to support ordinary seat springs from means secured to the bottom of the frame rails, said supporting means ordinarily being burlap strips interlaced -with each other and secured by nails to said rails. 'It has also'been the practice to place all of said springs under compression by means of tie cords firmly secured (to the tops of the difi'erent Springs and 'to the tops of theframe rails, all of said Springs being similarly tensioned so as to bring the top of the spring rig- 'ging parallel with the frame rails. With this construction of furniture, the tendencyV is' for the seat to sag centrally thereof after use, due mainly to the fact that the stretch of the burlap occurs centrally of the seatrof the chair, or at points well away from the frame rails, which stretch, when it becomes permanent, permits expansion of the Springs grouped aboutthe central portion of the seat resulting in increased resiliency at this point, or permit the Springs, in their entirety, to drop sufiiciently to give the sagging effect above referred to.

With the construction of seat above referred to, the Springs adjacent the back, front and side rails of the frame always, possess less resiliency than the springs toward the center of the seat so that there is a tendency to throw the occupant forwardly rather than backwardly.

With the above condition in mind, I have provided a furniture seat wherein the construction and arrangement of the seat springs is such as to avoid the central sagging of the seat, and to tend under all conditions, to throw the occupant toward the back of the article into a comfortable posture.

With the construction of seat in accordance with my invention, the legs of the article 'all extend substantially plumb.

4clined from adjacent the yfront to adjac'ent the 'scribed, and more particularly pointed out in Notwithstandng the tilting effect upon the occupant of the article,v the top of the seat will at all times be substantially horizontal. In securing the desired results, I provide the various seat springs with a non-fiexible and non-elastic support,

`which support is maintained at an angle to the horizontal with a downward and rearward pitch, thus' affording increased distance between the support for the bottom of' the springs and the top Vof the chair seat so as to permit the installation of compressed Springs of dififerent lengths from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of a chair. The inclination of vthe support for the springs results, When the tops of'the Springs are brought to the desired horizontal level by means of the ordinary tie cords, in a seat structure in which the springs are 'of progressively increasing resiliency from adjacent the front towardthe back of thechair. If desired, the supports for the VSprings vmay themselves be partially or wholly retained in relation to the front and back frame rails by a spring rigging which. will take up the'load'upon the article when the seat SpringshaVe'been vcompressedto develop a 'tension ,in excess of that of the springs of the said spring rigging. i

A spring seatembodying the invention may be produced without any material change in existing factory conditions or" factory practices.

The inventionv consists primarily in a furniture seat embodying therein the combination with the frame of an article of furniture, of upholstery springV supporting means downwardly' inback of the frame, a plurality of upholstery 'springs carried by said spring supporting means,

andV means tensioning said Springs and bringing thetops thereof to a substantially horizontal plane, whereby said Springs, from adjacent the front to adjacent the backl of the seat, will be of progressivelylowertension; and in such other 'novel features'of construction and 'combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and dethe claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawing, I

Fig. 1 is a front view in perspective of a sofa, the'seat of which embodies the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional condensed View of a seat structure fore and aft of the article of furniture in which the upholstery Springs supporting members are sustained by expansion springs at the back and at the front thereof;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 21in` which the the drawing, the framework including the legs 10 is of the usual construction and arrangement. The front seat rail 11 is secured to the front legs in the usual manner and in, the usual position. The back seat rail L2,V while attached to the rear legs in the usual manner, i's set upon a horizontal plane lower than that of the front rail 11. The side rails 13 are so mitred at them ends that the ends thereof coincide with both the front rail 11 and the back rail 12 and yet have the side rails. butt againstV the inner face of both the front and back legs of the article of furniture.

The back, front and side rails have their tops positioned well below the top plane of the seat structure.,v thus. providing a point of attachment for the upholstery spring tie cords well below the tops of these Springs. This arrangement greatly facilitates. the tensioning of the Springs during the assembly of the seat structure. The arrangement of rails also conceals the upholstery spring supporting means. Thev position of the rear rail below the front rail gives that downward and rearward. inclination to the spring supporting members which develops those conditions inthe seat structure hereinafter referred to.

I prefer to employ ri'gid, fiexibly supported upholstery spring supporting means,v and such are shown in the drawing.

In Figs. 1 and 2, the upholstery 'spring supporting means. are shown as consisting of wooden lslats 14 carrying at the opposite ends thereof metal flttings 15, co-operating with which are expansible Suspension Springs 16, the upper ends of which are. connected with metal. fittings 17 secured to the front and back rails 11 and 12 re- Spectively.. The Springs 1.6 hang. Substantially vertically so as to give a full floatng effect to the upholstery spring, supporting slat.

The number and spacing of the said slats 14 may vary with different manufacturers. Since the metal fittings 17 arefsupported respectvely from the front and back railsv 11 and 12, and since the Springs 16 are of the same length andv of substantially the same te'nsiom it isobvious that the slatsv 1.4. or other rigid. upholstery spring supporting means will extend at a. downwarcl 'angle from front to back of the seat as determined by the difference in the. horizontal position of the front. and back rails. difference may vary, although a. drop of from. one and one-half to two inches has been found` highly vdesirable in actual practice.

Mounted upon each. slat I4f'or other Spring` Supporting means is a row of upholstery springs 18, each of which Springs., prior to its assembly inA the seat structure, i's like every'other spring. Said Springs 18- may be attached to the slats o-r other supporti'ng means in any. desired manner, and after the Supporting. means with the Springs are secured in relation to the seat frame, tie cords, to firmly hold these Springs in their desired position in the seat structure. are connected tol the tops. of. adjacent. Springs in. the usual. manner and then secured to the top's of the'front,

back and side rails so as to both stay the Springs and place them under the desired compression.

When so tying in the Springs each spring is brought with its top upon a substantially horizontal plane, so that the tying in of the Springs results in the compression of those Springs closely adjacent the front rail 11 to the maximum extent desired to secure the desired seat= level, and a progressively lower compression of the Springs toward the back of the seat.

The result is that the Seat is progressively more .resilient toward the back thereof because of the graduation of the degree of compression of the Springs from the front toward the back of the seat. The top of the seat, however, is upon a substantially horizontal' plane so as to preserve the desired appearance of the seat.

The degree of compression of the Springs 18 from front to back is determined by the rearward and downward pitch of the Spring supporting means.

lh the drawing, the tie cords are shown at 19.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing, I have illustratecl the invention as applied to a typeof upholstery spring Supporting means in which slats 20 are '1 hinged at their forward ends to the front rail ll, and are suspended at their rear ends by means of fittings 15, Springs 16 and fittings 17, as in the embodiment of vthe invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This construction ensures the mainte- 1 nance of the front ends of the spring supporting means always upon the same level.

I employ a novel fitting pivotally connecting the spring Supporting means 20 with the front rail 1.1 consisting of a Sheet metal plate 21 :'1' adapted to be attached to the rear face of the rail ll. This plate has formed integrally therewith a central tongue 22 adapted to pass under and engage the lower edge of this rail and with an oppositely projecting flange 23 having rec-'l`` tangular openings 24 formed therein. The end of this flange 23 is turned downwardly as shown.

carried' by the slat 20 is a metalV fitting 25 adapted to be connected with the under side of the slat and having an upturned tongue 25V`1 adapted to engage the end of the slat. Upon opposite sides of the tongue 26, the fitting 25 is provided with arcuate tongues 27 adapted to pass through the slots 24 and pass belowand across the flange 23. I employ the above con- 1 struction because it facilitates the assembling of the slats in the seat structure and at the same time avoids any possibility of the slats becoming disengaged from the rail fitting.

A furniture seat ernbodying the invention is 1 characterized by the following conditions:-

When the article, such as a chair, is not in use, the seat hasall of the appearances of an ordinary Seat, all of. the springs being expanded to the maximum extent allowed by the tie cords. 1 As shown in 2 and 3 of the drawing, the Springs toward the back of the seat will be of progressively increasing lengths because of the rearward and downward inclination of the supporting means for these Springs. I

Since all of the springsused in the seat were Originally of the same dimensions, as to length as well as the material of which the Springs are made, it is obvious that this develops a condition in which the Springs at the front of the Seat are 1 much stiifer than those toward the back, and the intermediate Springs are of progressively lower tension or stiffness from adjacent the front to adjacent the rear Springs. Consequently, the.. seat as a whole is progressively less resistant to :a load from the front toward the back of the seat.

When' the article, such as a'chair, is occupied, the major portion of the weight. is toward'the back of the seat, the portion of the seat in which the Springs have the lower tension. Consequently, this portion of the seatyields Vmore readily than the portion toward the 'front So that the seatwill assume a generally downward and rearward tilt which tends to throw the occupant toward the back of the article or chair into a comfortable position. Immediately, however, that the occupant rises from a chair, all of the Springs expand to the full extent permi'tted by the tie 'cords and thus restore the top of the seat to its normal position in a horizontal plane.`

It is preferable to use rigid upholstery spring supporting members since such avoidl possibility of'the sagging of the central portion of the seat, due to thestretch,V tearing or loosening of the burlap websyif such be used. Furthermore, the use of such 'rigid Supporting members permits the adaptation to a seat, constructed to aiford a` graduated resiliency as described, of spring Suspension ,means for the support, which means comes into play only when, under excessive loads the'upholstery Springs 18 are tensioned to a degree to overcome the tension of the Suspension Springs 16. 'If itwere not for the'use of such Suspension Springs, an excessive load vupon the Seat would fully collapse the Springs toward the back of the seat particularly, so that an occupant would be brought to a dead stop with a Sudden jar when rigid spring supporting means are employed.v This is known as Striking bottom.

The use-of the Springs 16 preventsl this condition. If both front andrear Suspension Springs be employed there is a relatively greater cushionof Springs 16 may expand.

I have found, in actual practice, that the hinging of the rigid supporting'member to the front rail affords a Very comfortable seatwithout likelihood of any of the Springs ever striking bottom. This is due to the fact that there is seldom any material load placed upon the Springs toward the front of the article. i

The useV of the fittings shown in Fig. 4 is for the purpose of permitting a rapid attachment of the rigid spring supporting member to this front rail, and also to permit the mounting of the Springs upon the slats or other rigid support- 'ing member before assembling same in the seat structure.

The arcuate tongues preventv any possibility of the forward ends of the slats being disengaged from the plate carried by the front rail, and yet these plates maybe Secured in position upon Said front rail before the rail is assembled in the chair or Sofa frame.

The construction and arrangement of parts in the seat is such as to not only promote comfort of the user, but also to facilitate the assembling of the seat Structure in the article of furniture.

When so assembling, the Springs 16 are attached to the supporting member therefor. After being so attached, the supporting member is mounted in relationto the front and rear rails of the seat structure by either hooking the upper ends of the Springs 16 in the fittings 15, or by passing the arcuate tongues 26 through the openings 24 of the plate 21, and then attaching the Springs 16 at the rear of the slat to the fittings 15 carried by the rear rail 12.

When the rigid supporting members are thus assembled within the seat frame, all of the Springs 18 are expanded to their full extent. Thereafter tie cords are affixed to the spring and to the rails 11, 12, 13 and '14 in the usual manner, all of the Springs being compressed so as to bring the tops thereof on substantially the same horizontal plane as the top lof the front rail 11.

Aside from the mounting of the Springs upon the slats or other rigid Supporting means, prior to the assembly of this means and the attached Springs before mounting said rigid supporting means upon the rails 11 and 12, the assembly practices are the Same as with an ordinary furniture seat. Notwithstanding this, the conditions in the Seat as a result of these practices will be entirely different from those of the ordinary seat resulting in that graduated resiliency in the 'seat structure as a whole heretofore referred to.

The Springs 18 are of the 'usual construction, and the finished article of furniture, excepting for the downward tilt of the side rails 13 and 111 and the lowering of the backrail 12, has the appearance of the ordinary piece of furniture of the same class.

vIt is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details of construction shown in the accompanying drawing, it being apparent vthat such may be varied without Vdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The employment of spring sustained, rigid spring supporting members is highly desirable as affording additional ease andcomfort inithe use of the article of furniture. The use of webbing is undesirable because of the additional labor of installation and the liability of Such webbing to become disarranged with hard use of the furniture.

Having described the invention, what I claiml as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, 'isz- 1 1. A furniture seat embodying therein the combination with the frame of an article of furniture, of upholstery Spring supporting means downwardly inclined from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the frame, a plurality of upholstery Springs mounted on Said Supporting means, yieldable Suspension means for said suppcrting means to permit said supporting means to descend when the load upon said upholstery Springs is sufiicient to overbalance the action of the Suspension means, and means tensioning Said upholstery Springs and bringing the tops thereof to a substantially horizontal plane, whereby said upholstery Springs, from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the Seat, will be of progressively lower tension.

' 2. A furniture seat embodyng therein the combination with a frame for an article of furnilture having bars at the back and front thereof,

of rigid upholstery spring Supporting means downwardly inclined from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the frame, a plurality of upholstery Springs carried by and connected with said Supporting means, and means tensioning Said upholstery Springs and bringing the tops thereof to a substantially horizontal plane, whereby said upholstery Springs, from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the seat, will be of progressively lower tension.

3. A furniture seat embodying therein the combination with a frame for an article of furniture having bars at the back and front thereof, of rigid upholstery spring Supporting means downwardly inclined from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the frame, a plurality of upholstery Springs carried by and connected with said Supporting means, vertically extending suspcnsion Springs connected with said means and Vwith the frame, whereby Said means are perinitted to descend when the load upon said upholstery Springs is sufitlcient to overcome the ten- Sicn of Said Suspension Springs, and means ten- Sioning Said upholstery Springs and bringing the tops thereof to a substantially horizontal plane, whereby said upholstery Springs, from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the seat, will be of progressively lower tension.

4. A furniture seat embodying therein the combination with a frame for an article of furniture having bars at the back and' front thereof, of rigid upholstery spring supporting means downwardly inclined from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the frame, a plurality of upholstery Springs ca ried by and connected with Said supporting means, means pivotally connectingssaid Supporting means to the front of the frame, Vertically extending expansion Springs connected with said Supporting means and with the back of the frame, whereby the portion of said supporting means adjacent the back of the frame will descend when the loadupon said upholstery Springs is sufficient to overcome the tension of Said Suspension Springs, and means ten- Sioning said upholstery Springs and bringing the tops thereof to a substantially horizontal plane, whereby said upholstery Springs, from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the seat, will be of progressively lower tension.

5. A furniture seat embodying therein the combination with a frame for an article of furniture having bars at the back and front thereof, of rigid upholstery spring supporting means downwardly inclined from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the frame, a pluralty of upholstery Springs carried by and connected with Said supporting means, a metal plate for attachment to the front of the frame, having a central tongue adapted to pass thereunder and engage same and, an oppositely projecting fiange having openings therethrough and its edge downwardly turned, a metal fitting for attachment to said rigid Supporting means having an upturned tongue for engagement with the end of said means, and arcuate tongues adapted to pass through the openings in and pass below and across the downturned edge of said fiange, vertically extending expansion Springs connected with Said supporting means and with the back of the frame, whereby the portion of Said supporti-ng means adjacent the back of the frame will descend when the load upon said upholstery Springs is Sufiicient to overcome the tension of Said Suspension Springs, and means'tensioning Said upholstery Springs and bringing the tops 'thereof to a Substantially horizontal plane,

whereby said Springs, from adjacent the front to adjacent the back of the Seat, will ble of progressively lower tension. i

6. A furniture Vseat embodying therein a frame having a front rail, arear rail setV upon a lower horizontal plane than said front rail, and rear-` wardly and downwardly inclined Side rails, rigid upholstery spring Supporting means connected `with Said front rail and with said ,rear rail respectively, and extending upon an incline from Said front to Said rear rail, a plurality of upholstery Springs carried by and connected with said supporting means, and means ,tensioning Said Springs andbringing the tops thereof to a sub- :having a front rail, a rear rail Set upon a lower horizontal plane than said front rail, and rearwardly and downwardly inclined Side rails, rigid upholstery spring VSupporting means extending from said front rail toward said rear rail upon v,an incline, a plurality of upholstery Springs carried by and connected with Said supporting means, vertically extending Suspension Springs between said supportingmeans and said frame,

,whereby Said Supporting means are permitted ,to descend when the load.` upon said upholstery Springs lis sufcient to overcome the tension of Said Suspension Springs and tie cordS connected with the Various upholstery Springs and with said rails respectively, whereby said upholstery Springs arertensioned and the topsy thereof. are brought upon Substantially the Same horizontal plane, and Said upholstery Springs from adjacent i the front to adjacent the rear rails will be of progressively lower tension. w

i 8. A furniture seat embodying therein. a frame having a front rail, a rear rail set upon a lower horizontal plane than Said front rail, and rearwardly and downwardly inclined side rails, rigid upholstery spring Supporting means extending from said front rail toward said rear rail upon an incline, a plurality of upholstery Springs' carried by and connected with said supporting means, means pivotally connecting said/supporting means to Said front rail, vertically extending Suspension Springs connected with Said Supporting means and with said rear rail, whereby Said Supporting means are permitted to descend when the load lupon said upholstery'springs Vis sufiicient to overcome the tension of said SuspensionA Springs and tie cords connected with the various upholstery Springs and with said railsrespectively, whereby said upholstery Springs are tensioned and the tops thereof are' broughtv upon substantially the same horizontal 'pl-ane,` and said uphol- I 

